The Heart of a Defiled Land

Death on the desert sands of Dark Sun.

Strange Things are Afoot

The people of Athas suffer under the face of the brutal red sun. So has it always been, and thus will it ever be. But lately the hot desert winds have blown in whispers of death, upheaval and rebirth. What will these six – young soldiers, drifters, free spirits and former slaves whose wildest dreams have never imagined even a hot bath – do now as the foundations of their world begin to shake?

For random passers-by and interested onlookers, should such a thing ever come to pass

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The Heart of a Defiled Land

The Heart of a Defiled Land
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Preserving magic does not drain from the surrounding living matter because preservers carefully replace the energy they siphon with their spells; defiling magic creates a blackened radius around the caster.

Using arcane magic is illegal in most of Athas. This is because the reckless use of arcane magic during ancient wars defiled the land. Defiling gives away that someone is using arcane magic.

Arcane spellcasters who devote themselves to defiling receive additional benefits. A character who defiles for all of their spells in a given day receives an extra Action Point at the beginning of the day and an additional extra Action Point at every milestone. If the defiler uses any preserving magic, they must immediately remove an Action Point and no longer get extra action points for dedicated defiling until after an extended rest. This may put them at negative Action Points.

In order to use preserver magics, characters must purchase the Preserver feat. This allows the character to disguise their magic.

Characters may wish to disguise their casting as something other than Arcane magic when they are being observed by someone who is trained in Arcana. Doing so normally requires a Bluff check.